John Hawkes, author of eighteen novels and novellas, as well as short stories, four plays, and a volume of poetry, was born in Stamford, Connecticut on August 17, 1925. His father, John Clendennin Burne Hawkes, Sr. was raised in Connecticut, one of four sons of Irish parents; John Hawkes, Sr.'s father was one of nine sons of landed Irish gentry who rode to the hounds. Hawkes's father's family inspired an interest in horses, as did the proximity of the family home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut to riding stables. Hawkes had vivid memories of listening to the thumping and snorting of horses as he struggled to breathe in his bed during attacks of asthma. Horses appear, either fleetingly or significantly, in nearly all of his fictions as powerful embodiments of dreams, fears, and sexuality.
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Citation: Ferrari, Rita. "John Hawkes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2032, accessed 21 November 2024.]
